Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 11 March 2015
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – observed that fighting continued in areas in and around the Donetsk airport...
Lonely at the Top
In the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood, Daniel Day-Lewis plays the ruthless and determined oil prospector Daniel Plainview. Starting out with small and dangerous undertakings, Plainview amasses an oil empire worthy of any robber baron. Apart from the clear allusion to violence, blood plays an important part in shaping Plainview’s solitary...
Russia Denies Torture of Nemtsov Murder Suspects, Macedonian Political War Escalates
Plus, Poland becomes the latest Russian neighbor to revive military conscription, and Tajikistan tries a go-easy approach with Islamic State fighters. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Was Armenia the Canary in the ‘Near-Abroad’ Coal Mine?
Russian moves vis a vis Yerevan were an early indicator of the Kremlin’s more muscular approach to its former vassal states. From openDemocracy. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 10 March 2015
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – directly observed heavy fighting in and around the Donetsk airport and in the...
The joint international military brigade will bring Ukraine closer to NATO standards
The new joint military brigade will allow forces from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania to support stability and safety in the region and bring Kyiv’s armed forces closer to NATO standards. Military and security experts said that the unit, which will serve under the auspices of the UN, NATO and the EU, constitutes an important step for Ukraine,...
Low oil prices: Who are the losers?
Trying to forecast any future shifts in oil prices, or their eventual duration, is useless, as I wrote in December. Since that time, oil prices fell even more, then rose by more than a fifth in a matter of days, and then began to fall again — providing those commentators who will never learn with opportunities to argue that we will see $30/barrel...
Kazakhstan’s Septuagenarian President Eyes Five More Years, U.S. …
Plus, Bosnia delays vote on Adriatic dispute with Montenegro, and Kyrgyzstan’s ‘foreign agent’ bill clears a key hurdle. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Defending the Rules-Based Multilateral Order against Putin’s Multipolarism
The Ukrainian crisis represents the clashing of world orders; Putin’s multipolarism with European multilateralism. Principles such as the rule of law, democracy, individual rights and civil liberties have no place in Putin’s world of power politics and spheres of influence, but Europe should work hard to preserve them, and stand up to...
Through Putin’s Lens: Power Politics and Polarity
The Ukrainian crisis represents the clashing of world orders; Putin’s multipolarism with European multilateralism. Principles such as the rule of law, democracy, individual rights and civil liberties have no place in Putin’s world of power politics and spheres of influence, but Europe should work hard to preserve them, and stand up to...
